Ireland Is Abandoning Religion At A Startling Rate

In a recent study, only 47% of Irish citizens said they
considered themselves religious, a big drop from 7 years ago when
69% of people said they considered themselves religious.

Research company Red C conducted their research by
interviewing 51,000 people around the world and around 1,000 in
Ireland. The group called the claim a "significant drop".
The Belfast Telegraph reports that only Vietnam is seen a
bigger drop in people declaring themselves to be religious over
the past seven years.

Ireland has traditionally been dominated by the Christianity,
with a 2011 census showing that 84.16 percent of the country
identified as Roman Catholic. However, the authority of the
church has been rocked by multiple scandals in recent years, most
notably allegations of widespread sexual abuse and a subsequent
cover-up by the church.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kelly
openly criticized the church last year, saying that "the rape
and torture of children were downplayed in favor of upholding the
primacy of the institution, its power, standing and reputation."